Khan vs. Peterson: Peterson Doesn't Possess Power to Stop King Khan

Lamont Peterson is a skilled boxer, but there are few, if any, junior welterweights in the world who will outbox Amir Khan. To defeat him, you must bring the lumber, and Peterson doesn't possess that kind of power.

He has also been dropped at an alarming rate as his competition level has risen. Peterson was down against the accurate, but light-punching Tim Bradley in a unanimous decision loss in 2009. He was dropped twice by Victor Ortiz in their 2010 bout, which ended in a draw.

In that bout, Peterson landed hard shots to Ortiz, but Ortiz was not fazed by most of them. He walked through several clean power shots. The fight ended in a draw because Peterson was quicker and landed scoring counter shots. Those factors edged out the two points he had lost from going down twice in the third round.

Peterson is slick, but not slicker than Amir Khan. Unlike his bout with Ortiz, he will not have the hand-speed advantage. Khan has perhaps the fastest hands in the weight class, and he will carry that advantage as well as a significant edge in power into their bout.

This is likely the last, or the next to last, fight for Khan at light welterweight, before he ascends to welterweight. Neither his body composition nor his talent can be held from that division much longer. It is where the biggest paydays exist, and could be where he finally bangs heads with Tim Bradley. Then possibly, taking on the winner of the proposed super-fight with Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.